Registration of Company Charges

Part XII of the Companies Act 1985 requires “charges” granted by companies (and also limited liability partnerships) to be registered. This requirement is additional to the requirements of general law about the creation of security rights. For example, if a company grants a security over land, the security must be registered twice, once (under general law) in the Land Register, and a second time as a “company charge”. Part XII contains two sets of rules, one for England and Wales, and one for Scotland, the latter being largely a copy of the former. The Scottish provisions have hitherto never been closely analysed. The present article attempts to do so. The conclusion of the analysis is that the provisions are irrational.